Teel looked around at her people, her gaze resting on each face gauging the emotions of those still present. Teel's searching glance came to a stop on her mother's face, seeing a solitary tear run down her cheek. Overcome with sorrow that her people were suffering and that she had let them down, Teel devised a plan to save them and to ensure that her mother became no man's servant.
"Rogue," Teel whispered, catching the Black Rogue's dark glare, "I would to strike a bargain with you."
The Black Rogue glanced over at Teel as she was resting on her back looking back at him with passion glazed eyes. God, but she was desirable and lusty and . . . brave. He had just raped her in front of her people and still she tried to gain the upper hand. Despite the pleasure she had experienced, the end result had been the same, she had not come to him willingly, not desired to surrender herself to him; but she had done so, he had made sure of that . . . and would do so again.
The Black Rogue smiled at her latest attempt to bargain. As far as he was concerned she had nothing else to bargain with. He and his men had stolen every precious possession her people owned when they destroyed the village, but still, he was intrigued. Raising an eyebrow in query, the Black Rogue signaled his interest in further conversation.
Teel stood before the Black Rogue in all her naked splendor. Pressing her hands against his chest, she leaned up to whisper in his ear.
"Rogue, I know that I belong to you in every sense of the word from now until you tire of me; however, there is more of me to have that you will never be able to access or enjoy without my cooperation. Bedding a beautiful woman and bringing her pleasure is a joy all its own, but having that same woman come to you of her own free will and giving herself to you completely, giving you the same pleasures you have given her and more is even better." Teel began to slowly stroke his nipples with her fingers as she continued to talk.
"I require a separate holding for my mother. That she be allowed to exist not as a servant or a love slave, but as a counsel to the remainder of my people, to help them settle into this new life. I ask that the holding be large enough to support her as well as those too old or too young to be of use to you. I ask that I be allowed to visit with her five hours a day to assist her in counseling and caring for our people." Teel trailed her lips down his neck, licking and kissing her way along his chest until her mouth had fastened itself on his left nipple. Flicking her tongue over the burgeoning tip, Teel began to draw it into her mouth. Teel circled her tongue around the opposite nipple, before sucking that one into her mouth as well.
Teel nibbled her way back up his chest to his mouth and whispered against his lips, "I know I'm asking a lot of you and I don't expect you to take me on the strength of my words. Allow me ten minutes alone in your private quarters with my mother." She kissed the Black Rogue, allowing her tongue to invade his mouth and to tangle with his.
Although Teel initiated the game, she had not expected the Black Rogue to finish it, but he quickly took over the kiss and had her sighing her pleasure. Teel broke the kiss with a whispered promise. "Join me in ten minutes and I will show you how good it could be between us."
Teel watched as the Black Rogue summoned one of his lackeys and commanded he show Teel and her mother to his private quarters. Teel walked through the crowd nude, keeping her eyes fixed in front of her, shoulders back, head held high.
The Black Rogue smiled to himself as he watched her go. She was the treasure he had been searching for and did she but know it, she would give all of herself to him whether he accepted her bargain or not.
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Teel leaned against the door in relief once it was closed behind her mother.
Rushing to fill the silence, Teel spoke before her mother. "I have bargained my body for the security of our people. I don't know if this is something I can do. Counsel me, mother."
Lanie looked at her only child and smiled. "The tear you saw was not one of sorrow. Do you think I haven't watched you blossom and worried over whom would make a perfect match for you. There was no one that was suitable and I feared that you would never marry. You have had no equal in all these years, but now I find you do. The greatest gift a man can give a woman is love, but pleasure is the second greatest gift and this man is the one that can give you both." Teel opened her mouth to argue, but Lanie cut her off.
"A mother knows. I know. Your destiny lies with this man. Your people are not disappointed in you; they are only concerned over your welfare, as you are over theirs. They understand, as do I, that you must do what you must to save us, but we do not condemn you, we appreciate you, as we have always done."
"Mother, I do not know that I have the skills to win his heart."
"You were trained in the art of pleasing a man since you were fifteen. You have what it takes to win his body, and in so doing will win his heart. Do not worry Teel."
Teel crossed to her mother and hugged her. It would be all right.
Lanie left Teel to prepare herself for the coming of the Black Rogue.
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The Black Rogue counted down the remaining minutes until he could join Teel, imagining what delights she would have for him. He would give her what she had asked; after all, it was the acquisition of her that would lead to the end of his raiding.
On her deathbed, his mother had told him he would find the key to his happiness on the Western shores, and he had continued to raid them looking for what his mother had described.
For years, he had not known if he was searching for gold or a friend, but holding Teel in his arms and thrusting into her warm receptive recesses made him feel complete and satiated.
The Black Rogue smiled in anticipation as he headed towards his quarters. Her time was up.
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As the Black Rogue entered his quarters, he noticed Teel sitting on his desk, not on the bed where she should be. He closed and locked the door behind him before heading for the bed where he began disrobing.